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A Saudi Arabian company, Almarai, has been rising alfalfa on farmland in Arizona and California, and sending it in another country to feed cows. The southwestern United States suffers from droughts, with just about one-quarter of the rustic nonetheless having drought stipulations. A viral TikTok claims that the Saudi Arabian company is the use of water from California and Arizona to develop alfalfa. Alfalfa is understood to be a water-intensive crop that is generally used for grazing animals like cows. VERIFY reader Lisa requested if Saudi Arabia is certainly the use of water from Arizona to develop alfalfa.
The solution is sure, a Saudi Arabian company does use water from Arizona and California to develop alfalfa. Fondomonte Arizona, a subsidiary of Almarai company, bought 9,834 acres of farmland in Vicksburg, Arizona, for $47.5 million in March 2014. The company has additionally leased hundreds of acres of farmland from Arizona State Land Department in La Paz County, data display. In California, any other Fondomonte subsidiary owns a minimum of 1,790 acres of farmland within the town of Blythe alongside the California-Arizona border.
Alfalfa is grown in the USA to ship in another country to Saudi Arabia to feed their cows. The nation finalized a ban in 2018 at the expansion of alfalfa and different vegetation that had been straining its water provide. That’s why Almarai depends on in another country farms to develop alfalfa. The crop grows temporarily in desolate tract climates like the ones of La Paz County and Blythe. In addition, Fondomonte additionally advantages from the loss of groundwater pumping restrictions in Arizona’s La Paz County. The absence of water measuring signifies that the company can extract as a lot water as they want with out being charged for it.
It’s now not odd for international firms to possess farmland within the United States. According to a record from the USA Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency, international buyers owned about 5% of US agricultural land by means of December 31, 2021. Similarly, many American firms put money into farms in another country to develop produce. For instance, Mexico provides the USA with vegetation comparable to tomatoes, berries, and avocados.
In conclusion, a Saudi Arabian company does use water from Arizona and California to develop alfalfa, which is then despatched in another country to feed cows. It’s now not unusual for international firms to possess farmland within the United States, assuming that they agree to native rules and laws.
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